or so it seemed when I was a kid. Back then, we got out in late May and didn't return until after Labor Day. I can still taste the excitement that went along with that last few days...the anticipation of empty months looming ahead, waiting to be filled with adventure. Of course the excitement faded quickly since I lived in the country with no neighbors and only bratty brothers to play with. Still, though. It was special and precious, one of those feelings of freedom that one never forgets.

I began working summers when I was 13 years old as a lifeguard at a local private club pool. I only made 50 cents an hour, but that was okay considering the fact that I got to gaze at all the guys and flip hamburgers while I batted my eyelashes at'em. For five full summers I lived the high life on that lifeguard stand, working on my tan and playing spades like a demon in between shifts on high. During the rainy days when the kids stayed home, we would roam around in the club playing the slots and mixing drinks like the novice bartenders that we were. Heck I would've done that gig for free! I learned a lot from the older gals and guys that I worked with, and that was a good thing. We always had each others' backs and grew to young adulthood together. Some of the best times were when we worked the private parties at night and got the pleasure of guarding the drunk adults...sheesh.

My first car was partly financed with money that I got from a settlement when some anonymous person reported the club to the Labor board, forcing them to give us what we had earned over the years while we "slaved" for 50 cents. Beat the heck out of the same amount that I made hawking strawberries one year from my Daddy's patch!

Once I wasn't able to spend the summer in the water, I came to like it less and less. Gettin' into a hot car at the end of a long work day is close to the top of my "least favorite things to do" list. Us southern gals sure do hate to sweat....especially when doing nothing but breathing. The distate factor can be multiplied by 10 for each child or bag of groceries being toted around in said heat.

Lightning bugs have been flickering their tails at me for the past couple of weeks and graduations are happening every weekend. The society pages of the newspapers are filled with wedding announcements and beach condos are booked solid for weeks on end.

Makes me wanna pull out my whistle and order some rowdy kid to pick up the paper around the pool. Instead, I think I'll just fan myself and thank the good Lord I don't have leather car seats.